The 8 best-dressed men of the week

Bar of the week: Clean Air Bar with Ketel One vodka

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

The 8 best-dressed men of the week

Bar of the week: Clean Air Bar with Ketel One vodka

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

GQ: You recently said that Arsenal Fan TV was an embarrassment. What's embarrassing? The manner in which those fans are calling for Arsène Wenger's exit, or the fact that they want him to leave?

GN: A fan can be able to say what he wants, do what he wants – he pays his money. However it doesn’t mean to say that as football people you have to accept that there isn't a level of respect that should be afforded to someone who's dedicating 20 years of his football life to Arsenal. He's also been loyal to Arsenal when he could have gone to other clubs in that period. And I think he certainly doesn't deserve abuse. He doesn’t deserve public embarrassment. There are some definite solid arguments around. I personally want him to stay – I want football clubs where it’s possible to try and believe in managers. I hope he gets it right.

What's been Arsène Wenger's biggest downfall in the past decade or so?

I think his loyalty is incredible to the club. What I would say is that his loyalty to his players is fantastic. However, I think some of it is misplaced in some of them.

You recently called out Mesut Özil, Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott. Are you referring to them?

PA Photos

Advertisement

Why Arsène Wenger must leave Arsenal this summer

Alfie Baldwin

31 Mar 2017

Yeah, I think they’ve got a soft centre. If you look back to Arsenal teams that’s the last thing they had. Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Steve Bould, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Gilberto Silva. But even other players, like Dennis Bergkamp, were tough – tough in the sense that you know they always took the ball, there was a bit of nastiness to them. Freddie Ljungberg was feisty. Ray Parlour was determined. Even Robert Pirès who wasn’t tough, as in courageous, tackle-wise, was courageous on the ball. He wanted it all the time. Cesc Fàbregas always wanted the ball. I don't see that same level of courage on or off the ball running through the team.

Read next

How to celebrate (and survive) the World Cup 2018

No dissing or proclaiming that the World Cup 2018 is boring will be allowed.

ByJustin Myers, The Guyliner

You've said that what Wenger has achieved is fantastic. Are you referring to his loyalty?

Yeah. He's been offered big jobs in the last 20 years, and he could have left. He stayed at a point where his star was high. So now when it's tough I think it would be nice for the club to stay with him, and they have stayed with him for a few years when it hasn't been successful. And there isn't any guarantee that you go and change and all of a sudden Arsenal are going to win the league. Chelsea's, Manchester United’s and Manchester City's budget next year will mean that whoever manages Arsenal is going to find it difficult to win the league.

How would you assess the current Premier League season? The best? Worst? Average?

Harry Kane: Tottenham expect to win silverware this season

Stuart McGurk

09 Feb 2017

It's not the best, it's not the worst. I think in the first six months of the season I saw that there was potentially a lifting quality, particularly through Chelsea. They've run away with it a little bit, even though there’s been a bit of blip at the moment. I think it's been a good season. I think that it needs to get better to get into that higher levels of Champions League. We’re struggling really to get to the latter stages of Champions League football and that is a worry. But I do believe it will turn, and I think that with the managers that we've got in the league and the investment that it will come. José Mourinho's in his first transfer window – they’ve only had one transfer window [him and Pep Guardiola] as has Conte. I expect all three of to improve, as I do with the Tottenham and Liverpool. And Arsenal have to improve as well.

Advertisement

The atmosphere is there. The entertainment is there. The willingness of the people is there. It just needs a higher level of focus and concentration from the players in terms of the intensity.

Why do you think the quality has dropped recently?

Ultimately it cycles sometimes. We had the golden period probably from 2004 to 2011. It does go in cycles where at that time Italian football was struggling a little bit, Spanish football was certainly prominent, but maybe wasn’t as successful. German football seems to have had a bit of a resurgence through Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

Read next

Why Liverpool are the most dangerous football team

There are no egos, expectations or complacencies – just energy, togetherness and a palpable hunger to succeed.

ByLee Stobbs

Is the Premier League the number one league in the world anymore?

The Premier League is the No1 league in the world in many areas. The events, the shocks, the production, the viewing figures, the worldwide audience are by far the best. Do I think at this moment in time it’s got the highest quality levels in Europe in terms of Champions League football and domination of that area? In quality terms it needs to rise again to get to that point where it's by far the best in all areas.

With Tottenham now only seven points behind Chelsea, is the title race back on?

It’s never been off, because it’s been too far out to ever say that Chelsea have won it. I’d be very surprised if Chelsea let what would be a freak result against Crystal Palace at home dismantle their confidence and completely pull them apart. However I do like Tottenham. I just wonder; they’ve got a game against Manchester United and they’ve got a game against Arsenal. They're going to have to almost be flawless to even put any pressure on Chelsea. If Chelsea are going to stumble, it will be in this next three games. They’ve got Manchester City, they've got Bournemouth away and they’ve got Manchester United away. So I think if you were to say if they were to lose two of those three matches you definitely then could say there’s something happening.

Advertisement

How has Antonio Conte managed to get things right this season?

Going to three at the back. When David Luiz came back I wasn't convinced. Because at the time he was playing with a back four and I'd seen John Terry and Gary Cahill with David Luiz before – it didn’t work. Secondly, I think putting Nemanja Matić and N'Golo Kanté alongside each other in central midfield. And obviously they've got a great goalkeeper. And the other big thing is getting Eden Hazard and Diego Costa back to their best – it's a huge thing because they make the difference up front.

Things have fallen into shape for him [Conte] in the sense that Victor Moses is a right wingback. Who’d have thought it? Everything seems to have sort of knitted together. He’s got consistency, a strong spine, experienced players, match winners and a good goalkeeper. All the right ingredients for a championship-winning team which he didn’t have at the start of this season.

I think that ultimately the goalkeeping situation is one that you could argue he's got wrong I think. Defensively they’re absolutely nowhere near Manchester City. You see them sort of needing three or four new players in that back five.

Read next

Manuel Pellegrini is the right man for West Ham

West Ham's new manager is no stranger to the Premier League, but very few English football fans know the real Manuel Pellegrini. GQ found out a little bit more...

ByAndy Mitten

You look at the full-backs, Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta are past their best. Gaël Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov are probably past their best and not defensively great. They need a completely new suite of full-backs. At centre-back I think John Stones is improving, Nicolás Otamendi has got talent. But are they a pair? Are they protected? Fernandinho is a good player in holding midfield, but he’s on his own at times.

PA Photos

I can see the central midfield looks porous. And he'll fix that, I'm sure. They need a centre-forward as well. But the main problems are that you cannot defend like that in the Premier League. You’re just going to harm yourself consistently. It spreads anxiety through the team. You couldn’t say Guardiola's got it wrong. I suppose in some ways he’s just not been able to make those players that he's been fed form as they should.

On to Manchester United. Who would you have liked to have seen taken over after Sir Alex Ferguson left?

PA Photos

It’s easy to look back now isn't it and say, “Oh, David Moyes was a mistake.” And I never think that. At the end of the day my view was when they appointed David Moyes – and I still take it exactly the same way – is that Manchester United had always had British managers. I love the introduction of international managers and players into the league. However United's principles through their history had always been: they will appoint a British manager, there will always promote youth, they will always play a certain style of football, they will always look to entertain. So to me the idea of appointing a British manager, appointing somebody who deserved that opportunity to step up, was the right principle.

Read next

Why everyone needs to relax about the England team

Gareth Southgate’s squad is the most inexperienced England have taken to a tournament since 1962.

ByLee Stobbs

So, Moyes was the correct man?

The principle of appointing a British manager was correct and I wish that United were still in a position now where they’d always stuck to those values and principles. But I do like José Mourinho as a manager.

When Ryan Giggs took over as interim manager in 2014, were you also offered the role?

Rex / Shutterstock

I was at Sky at the time, there were four games to go, and no, I wasn’t offered a role. I think from my point of view at the time I would have liked to have seen Ryan carry on with it.

Read next

No, I don't. In some ways because ultimately he’d won the FA Cup in his first two years. I suppose in some ways I had an issue with the football. Not with Louis van Gaal’s football. Louis van Gaal is one of the most incredible coaches who’s done a fantastic job in clubs all over Europe. However, for me it was a departure from what I believe United principles to be, which is to play the ball forward quickly; attack with pace; counter-attack; have personality and characters. I felt we went into a bit of a passive mode, which I particularly didn’t like as a style for United.

Can the current United boss push for the title next season?

Wayne Rooney: Mourinho has brought a winning mentality back to United

Josh Lee

07 Feb 2017

The quality and talent isn't there at the moment to be able to get us into that top four. It’s not happening. However, we'll see after one more transfer window – I would be amazed next season if United weren’t pushing up nearer to the top of the league. It needs that three or four more players and I think that ultimately he'll get them. It looks like he's setting up for a big transfer window. By getting rid of Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, United all of a sudden are starting to sell well. It looks like the the club is revving up and José Mourinho is revving up for a big transfer window.

What areas specifically would José need to target?

I think the club needs the strength in all areas. I think there is an issue now at left back, particularly with what's happened with Luke Shaw in this last 24 hours. There is an issue at centre-back. I think now they need a holding midfield player. And they still need one or two more forwards.

Who would you like to see José Mourinho bring to the club?

PA Photos

Read next

Gareth Southgate on his England World Cup squad

England coach Gareth Southgate has announced his World Cup squad ahead of Russia 2018. In an exclusive interview, we talked to him about how he picked his team, his hopes for the tournament and how he is preparing his players for a penalty shoot-out...

ByPaul Henderson

The best player I saw in Spain, that you would argue is sign-able, was Antoine Griezmann. To me he was incredible. I thought he was fantastic to watch. Not so much from the Valencia point of view.

How long, if ever, will it take for United to dominate again?

Why winning the EFL Cup will guarantee more silverware for José Mourinho

Josh Lee

26 Feb 2017

Will any club dominate again? Are any club set up to dominate again? When you look at the clubs that have dominated they've usually got a core five, six or seven players who can stay there for 10 to 15 years. There is a continuity with the management. I'm not quite sure at the moment that I'm seeing the decision making at any of the top clubs to be able to suggest that domination is actually achievable again. Maybe in the future, but I'm not quite sure it'll happen very soon.

Advertisement

Sky Sports will show the biggest games in the Premier League run-in including Chelsea vs Manchester United, the north London and Manchester derbies and more.